Faith Porter-Black: And the Philosopher's Stone
by RogueMustangMare
Summary: Long ago, the four Hogwarts Founders had lived together in peace and harmony; then, everything changed when one of the Heirs betrayed them. Only the remaining Heirs were strong enough to stop him, sacrificing their magic and their lives; and the truth, became nothing more than a mere memory. Warning AU!
1. Prologue

**Summary**

When Faith arrives at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she can't wait to begin her education in the magical arts, and she is determined to learn everything she can. However, almost before she even has a chance to settle in, trouble starts in the form of one Edward Wesley. Navigating through treacherous waters of a scheming Headmaster, Inter-House rivalry, and an old archrival to boot, Faith has her hands full!

But when she and her friends discover that someone is out to steal the Philosopher's Stone from the Forbidden Corridor, it will take working together as one House to overcome the challenges set in store for them. But, can Faith survive an encounter with an enemy long believed to be dead?

 **Prologue**

Iris chewed on a thumbnail as she anxiously paced around the living room, her eyes darting to the windows that showed out to the front yard of their house. She had been waiting for her husband, Sirius, to come back home for almost two hours; he had left after dinner because he felt as if something was telling him to go check on their friends, Jack and Brianna, saying that something felt wrong. She had yet to hear back from him and, the thought that something might have happened to her brother, sister-in-law, and thirteen month old niece, made her jumpier than a spooked horse.

 _Where is he? He said he was only going to check on them and then come straight home! Why is he still there?_ She asked herself and looked at the grandfather clock that stood in the far corner next to the fireplace.

To the mortal eye, it looked like any normal grandfather clock, tall with a rectangular frame made out of cherry wood, an ornate design of the Black and Porter Family crest on top. The clock face was made of white marble with Roman numerals around the edge of the clock face; two long black strips of metal were positioned to read the time: 8:45 pm. A third, thin strip moved around the clock, marking the passage of time. However, to Iris and anyone with magical blood's eye, the illusion gave way to the real clock face.

This face had four long strips of gold metal, each with the names of the family members; at the ends of each hand, was a picture of the family member it represented. On the edge of the clock face, instead of numbers or numerals, there were words written in black which depicted where each family member was at any given moment of the day: _Home_ , _School_ , _Work_ , _Travelling_ , _Visiting_ , _Shopping_ , _Hospital_ , _Hogsmeade_ , _Quidditch_ , _Riding_ , _Prison_ , and _Gringotts_.

She, Jinny, and Hope, her and Sirius' fourteen month old daughter's, hands were all pointed at the _Home_ slot of the clock; while Sirius' hand was pointing at the _Visiting_ slot.

"Mistress Iris, you need to calm yourself down, I'm sure Master Sirius has just forgotten the time is all," said a young female voice coming from the kitchen. A second later, a young House-Elf wearing a blue tunic with the Porter Family Crest on the front came into the living room, carrying a tray with the evening tea. "You know how he and Master Jack get when they can visit each other. Why, Mistress Brianna is probably too busy with Little Miss Faith to remind them of the time," she adds as she set the tray down on the coffee table in the middle of the living room.

Iris sighs. "I know Jinny, I just can't help it. Ever since that prophecy was made it feels as though time can come to a standstill and no matter what we do, it feels as though we'll never be safe. I don't know which one is worse: Voldemort trying to get us and my brother's family to join his army, or Dumbledore trying to get us all to follow in his plans for Faith's future. She's just a baby for Pete's sake!" she cried, feeling the full strain of the situation with each passing second.

Six months ago, Iris, Sirius, Jack, and Brianna had decided to go into hiding when both Voldemort and Dumbledore's insistent demands became too much; especially since Voldemort's followers were also targeting Sirius and Brianna more than they did to any of the other Aurors they fought against. Like tonight, Sirius and Jack hadn't been able to hang out as much as they wanted to, so, whenever they could visit each other, they usually forgot the time.

However, Sirius had always sent a message to her saying that he was all right.

Jinny walked up to the woman and placed a calm hand on her mistress' arm. She may have been young for a House-Elf, but she was mature and wise for her age. "Mistress Iris please, I know it's been hard for you and Mistress Brianna, especially for Mistress Brianna who is being persecuted because she is of mortal descent, but the times will get better soon, you'll see," she said, guiding her mistress to the couch in front of the coffee table where the tea sat. "Now, you just have yourself a cup of chamomile tea."

Iris smiled at Jinny. "Thank you Jinny, I'm glad we met you when we did," she said.

Jinny smiled. "Jinny is most happy as well, you and Master Sirius are the most caring of witches and wizards and Jinny will always serve your family until the end of her days," she said.

Iris and Sirius had met Jinny a month before they went into hiding, when they had gone shopping in Diagon Alley; Iris had needed to restock her Potions Lab and had gone into the Apothecary to place her order. Jinny had been watching an energetic three year old boy while her mistress had been talking with another woman. Iris had smiled at the House-Elf who smiled back in return, causing the little boy in her arms to squeal in delight.

Just then, the woman had whirled around and, after grabbing her son roughly from Jinny's arms, had raised her cane as though she was going to hit Jinny. Iris had sent a curse at the cane, causing the wood to explode into a thousand pieces; after cursing the woman to oblivion for being so ignorant that she would beat another living, breathing creature, she offered to take Jinny from the woman.

The woman had accepted and transferred everything to Iris before leaving in a flurry of furs and anger.

Iris chuckled. "Just remember everyone does their fair share of the chores as well," she said, as the grandfather clock began to chime and Sirius' hand moved from _Visiting_ to _Travelling_. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, he's on his way home finally."

"There is a stasis charm on the tea Mistress, so it'll be nice and hot for when he comes home," explained Jinny. "Let me know when you are both finished with your tea, and I will come back in to take the tea away."

"We will Jinny, thank you," replied Iris kindly.

Jinny walked back to the door separating the kitchen from the living room and pushed her way through.

Iris sighed and prepared herself a cup of tea, glad that soon, her frightened anxiety will be over.

The clock began to chime once again, but, instead of Sirius' hand moving toward _Home_ , his hand moved to the _Shopping_ slot.

 _Must be getting something to give Jinny and I as his way of apologizing for making us worry_ she thought, praying that everything was all right and that she had just let her imagination get away from her again.

Ten minutes later, his hand moved back to _Travelling_ , before moving to _Home._

Iris smiled and moved to get up but then the clock chimed again, his hand moving back to _Travelling_. What's more, a bluish-green light appeared next to her hand, and then, a long strip of metal, the exact same shape and color as the other four, appeared with the words, _Faith Porter-Black_ written along the strip, followed by a little baby's face appearing on the end of the strip. It was a girl with a mop of mousy-brown hair and ice-blue eyes; Iris noticed something thin and red surrounding the baby's right eye, but she couldn't make it out.

Iris gasped, dropping her spoon. She was soon on her feet and running to the front door, grabbing her wand from off the table as she went.

"Mistress Iris! Mistress Iris, Jinny saw Master Sirius came by the house but then he disappeared! In his dog form!" said Jinny as she came out of the kitchen.

Iris reached the front door, waved her wand over the intricate locking charms, and, once the charms came off, she pulled the door open. She gasped when she saw the sleeping babe, wrapped up in a pink blanket with an envelope tucked into the folds of the blanket, a blue diaper bag next to her.

Iris picked up the child and walked back into the foyer. Now that she held her niece, she could clearly see the cut around the girl's right eye; it looked like a five-pointed star.

"Mistress Iris . . . what is it?" asked Jinny tentatively.

Tears began to form in Iris' eyes as the reality of the situation sunk in. "Jack . . . Brianna they're . . ." She couldn't continue as her voice broke and the tears spilled from her eyes. She was frozen, unable to move or think.

Jinny moved closer and, when she saw the baby in her mistress' arms, her little heart broke. However, there was no time for tears. "Then we must go through with the plan Mistress Iris. For surely as soon as word gets out, Dumbledore will be coming as well," she pleaded.

"Yes . . . yes you're right. I'm sorry, Sirius wrote a letter, we will read that first and then begin the first part of the plan," she said and walked upstairs to her daughter's room.

Jinny picked up the diaper bag and closed the door, waving her hand over the intricate locking charms, putting them back up into place. After checking to make sure that everything was in place, she followed her mistress up the stairs to where the bedrooms were. When they reached the first door on the right, Aunt Iris opened the door and pushed it open.

Inside, the room looked almost exactly as you would find in a fourteen month old girl's room. Bright pink walls with white trim and a rose-colored carpet; the walls were covered in pictures of fairy tales and of family members. Cloth-made words spelling out Hope's name covered the space above Hope's crib which was placed to the left of the door. A rocking chair stood off to the right in the corner, next to a bookcase, while a changing station stood underneath the far window. A chest of drawers sat next to the changing station full of clothes.

When Iris entered the room, she turned left where the crib sat, and laid her niece next to her daughter, who had a mop of black hair and, when she was awake, had the same ice-blue colored eyes as herself, Jack, and Faith. Her family was well-known for having ice-blue eyes and, no matter who married into the family, each child was born with the same color of eyes; it was strange and nobody had been able to explain it.

The two girls made a soft whimpering noise before turning toward each other, their arms draped over each other.

Jinny chuckled. "They'll be closer than twins that's for sure," she whispered, not wanting to wake them.

"I know, I just hope after tonight Sirius and I can keep them safe," replied Iris, grateful that the two girls got along so well. She gently extracted the letter from Faith's blankets and kissed both girls' foreheads. "Come, time is precious right now, and we have a lot to accomplish in so little time."

With one last look at the two girls, Iris and Jinny left the room, each in her own thoughts.

Neither one of them knew what the future held in store for them.

A future that would begin in the morning with the return of someone once thought dead.

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Okay, so here is the first chapter of my new Harry Potter series, I know I know I still have A Troubled Nymph but that is still in the fetus stage right now. Please keep in mind, I like the name Philosopher's Stone better than the Sorcerer's Stone, but the publishers have their own agenda. First this story is following the major points of the story but things will be a bit different as you go along. Also, I'm not giving away why Dumbledore is a jerk in this right now. You will just have to wait and read! Please read and review! No flammers please! Nobody learns anything from those kinds of reviews.


	2. Chapter One

All right everyone! Here's Chapter One! Thank you for everyone who has been reading and I'm sorry if the chapters are long, I promise, the fillers won't be as long. Enjoy!

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 **Ten Years Later . . .**

Minerva McGonagall was not happy. It was the first Saturday of March and, while the weather was _finally_ starting to warm up after the long winter months, she and the other professors were stuck in the stuffy Staff Room for the monthly Staff Meeting. "I hate Staff Meetings," she grumbled as she poured herself a cup of apple juice from the array of ice cold drinks on the buffet table that ran along one wall.

"The feeling is mutual Minerva," agreed Severus, as he grabbed a chicken and turkey sandwich from the array of assorted sandwiches and put it on his plate. "At least you don't hear about any _filed_ complaints about your House."

"Hm, true on that, but you weren't the only one angry with him about his stupidity and prejudices. I wanted to set his arse on fire during the Head of House Meeting last month," she replied, grabbing a plate from the stack and spooning some potato salad onto it. "Let us hope he doesn't waste these next two hours with his comments or worse."

"I doubt he'd be able to Minerva," said Filius as he passed by them on his way to the desserts.

"Oh? And why is that Filius?" she asked.

"Because a representative of the School Board is here and you know as well as I do that he will always behave himself around them," he explained, using a cake knife to slice a piece of cheesecake and serve it onto his plate.

"Don't also forget, today is also the day we receive the files of the new students for next year," offered up Pomona. "By the way Severus, I passed by the Hospital Wing on my way here and Poppy asked me if I would deliver a message to you, since she may not be able to make it to the meeting."

"Oh? Is anything wrong?" he asked curiously. Besides being a Potions Master, Head of Slytherin House, and making his own potions, he also stocked the Hospital Wing with several bottles of potions that they needed.

"No, she's fine, except that some patients came in yesterday and used up all of the Bruise Salve, Sore Muscles Cream, Level One Pain Potion, Cure for Boils, and finally the Cure for Bogies," she explained. "The School Quidditch Team players were there after a particularly harsh training session; plus a rider who fell off her horse during a private lesson." She shared a look with Filius.

"What is it?" asked Severus who took out his notebook and began writing down everything he would need to make.

"Well . . . there was an altercation yesterday . . . between the Scott and Wesley twins," replied Filius. "Some students got caught in the crossfire and, while nobody was seriously injured, both Susan and Heather were given detention for a week and fifty points taken from each of them."

"And the Wesley boys?" asked Severus.

"They got away with it, even though according to the girls, they were the ones who started it," replied Minerva and sighed. "I've tried to punish them but Dumbledore would not allow it; saying something along the lines of, 'They're just being boys is all' and that the girls are just being oversensitive about it."

"Ha! I would love to see him get hit by one of their pranks and see how he likes them after that," said Nancy Downs, the new History of Magic teacher. She taught years one through five, while the old History of Magic teacher, Professor Binns, taught the sixth, seventh, and eighth N.E.W.T students.

Minerva liked the young woman, since the girl had been a Gryffindor when she was a school; she had helped Nancy get a scholarship to Merlin University in both History of Magic and Transfiguration. She turned to Filius and Pomona. "What are you two going to do with Heather and Susan?" she asked, since Heather was in Hufflepuff and Susan was in Ravenclaw, it would be up to Filius and Pomona to decide the appropriate detention for the two girls.

"Well we've talked it over this morning and I've decided to take over Heather's detentions since she is a natural at Charms and actually wants to get a degree in Charms when she graduates," said Filius.

"While I can't say that Susan wishes to get a degree in Herbology, she does like being outside more than being inside," said Pomona.

Severus finished writing down his list. "I'll start these potions as soon as we're done here," he said, putting the notebook away, and walked toward his usual spot at the staff table.

The door to the Staff Room opened and Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid, and Neveah Cornwall entered the room. Neveah was the reason so many changes had occurred at Hogwarts and, in a sense, in the rest of the Wizarding World as well. When she became a School Governor twenty years ago, she had written up many plans for improving Hogwarts so that each student got more than the old education. Combining both magical and non-magical courses, updating the textbook lists, bringing in modern technology, adding new courses, and creating scholarships and grants for students who couldn't afford the schooling otherwise, and more.

Neveah, her dark-brown hair pulled back into a braided bun, her dark skin glistening, smiled and greeted each professor but gave Pomona a gentle squeeze of the shoulder, which the Herbology witch squeezed back. Neveah had been a Hufflepuff student and one of the most hardworking students in her year.

"Good afternoon everyone, please pardon my lateness, Ms. Cornwall and I were discussing more details about my request to the Governors. So, if we are all set, let us begin," said Dumbledore, as he sat down at the head of the table.

"Hello everyone, as you all know, beginning April ninth, we will be receiving next year's first year students for the Orientation Week," said Neveah, as she placed her briefcase on the table and pulled out her laptop. She flipped the lid up and turned it on, typing her password in before looking up. "If you all will please take out your laptops, we can begin; there are a few students I am most concerned about."

Minerva reached down and took out her own laptop; at first, when Neveah had suggested that each of the teachers learn how to operate a computer and keep up-to-date on the new technological advances, she had spoken against it. But, when she realized that using the computers helped make reading essays better for her eyesight, she had changed her mind and signed up for lessons.

Neveah waited until everyone, with the exception of Dumbledore who couldn't be bothered to learn how to use a computer and Hagrid who's fingers were too big for the keyboard, had opened their laptops and had looked up, waiting, with their emails up. "Now, I believe you all have received an email of the new students I wish to discuss; the first student I wish to talk about is Patrick O'Connor," she said, pressing a button on her laptop.

Filius clicked on the picture of the first document and a file popped up on a separate page. Patrick, an eleven year old boy with short strawberry-blonde hair, brown eyes, fair skin, short, and skinny, looked up at him from the screen. Quickly reading through the file, he noticed that, besides being pretty smart for his age, there were several incidents of accidental magic; but, what worried him most was that there were more visits to the hospital for accidents that seemed far too numerous for a boy his age.

"He's a muggle-born wizard and, as you can see, is a very bright student; however, we're not entirely certain that he's completely muggle-born," said Neveah. "His adopted parents are both doctors who frown upon magic."

"If I'm reading this correctly, there are signs of physical abuse here," said Filius. "Broken bones, bruises, cuts, burns, all of these are not natural for even an energetic boy to have at this age. Broken bones and bruises maybe if they're an athlete, but he's more of a scholar than an athlete. How come the Muggle Child Protection Services haven't been notified?"

"Well as you can see both of his parents have been taking care of the injuries and, even though the hospital has called MCPS many times, no report was ever filed," explained Neveah. "However, when we received his file, we've contacted Wizarding Child Protection Services and they have already begun their investigation into the matter."

Dumbledore sighed tiredly. "It could be that his magic is the cause of the injuries?" he suggested.

Neveah nodded her head in agreement, but refused to play into the Headmaster's suggestion. "Be that as it may, he is attending our school and we have an obligation to make sure that each student who is entrusted into our care has a safe home to go to," she replied, ending the matter.

He nods, but Minerva could see that he didn't fully agree with Neveah. _Oh Albus, where are you_ she asked herself sadly, placing a hand on the emerald necklace she always wore under her robes.

"Next is Hope Black," said Neveah.

Pomona smiled a small smile as she clicked open the second file to reveal the familiar face. Eleven years old, long black hair, just like her father, with the famous Porter Eyes; fair skin with not even a hint of acne, short, and shaping into what promised to be a beautiful young woman.

"Besides her father's history, as well as the Black Family history, I am concerned about her disability," said Neveah.

Dumbledore's face remained impassive, but he shifted in his seat. "So she was born with a disability; she'll be treated like any other student," he said, almost sounding as if he blamed the girl for having a disability.

 _More like because you know how she got that disability_ Severus thought, wishing he could leap over to where the Headmaster sat and pummel him into the floor; however, he kept his eyes on the screen before him, pretending to read the file. He, Minerva, Filius, Pomona, and a few others already knew about Hope and, going over the file, he wasn't surprised by anything it said. "It says here, that she wasn't born with the disability, in fact, when she was three years old, her family's home had been broken into and a curse was inflicted upon her which caused her leg to become weak and grow crooked?" he asked, looking up at Neveah for confirmation, even though he already knew the whole story.

Neveah nods. "The culprit was never caught, in fact it's still an open investigation, I've checked with the Auror Department, Mad-Eye is still searching for the person," she explained. "The Healers at St. Mungo's have been unable to life the curse; they believe that the death of the culprit or her magic will lift the curse in time."

"So in the meantime, it looks as if her mother insists she continue her exercises and that she stay out of the Special Needs classes," said Minerva. "I remember Iris, she was one of the best Healers at St. Mungo's and could have become Head Healer by the time she was thirty if she hadn't disappeared ten years ago."

"Which brings me now to Hope's cousin, Faith Porter-Black," said Neveah, not noticing Dumbledore's frown at the last name.

Minerva had noticed, but said nothing as she clicked on the third and final file in her email folder. A picture of an eleven year old girl with shoulder-length mousy-brown hair, the same ice-blue eyes as her father, aunt, and cousin, tanned skin, tall, and skinny stared back at her with her father's crooked grin. Faith looked every bit like her mother, with the exception of her eyes, whom she got from her father, Jack. The only difference was the five-pointed star-shaped scar around her right eye. She sighed, wishing that Faith was just like any other student instead of a survivor of one fateful night.

"I'm sure we all know her story so I won't bother with the details but, it has come to mine and the other School Governors' attention that many of the students here have been placing bets and even starting fights about what House Faith will be sorted into come the start of next year?" said Neveah looking around at each of the professors. "Have there been any improvements made since our last received report back in February?"

"Yes, we have caught the students who have been participating, however . . . they have been unable to tell us who initially started it all," replied Nancy solemnly. "You must understand Ms. Cornwall, outside factors come into play here as well. The parents of these students don't help as they all want their children to become friends with Faith because she defeated Lord Voldemort ten years ago."

"The _Daily Prophet_ doesn't help either," spoke up Filius. "Why just this morning, they finished telling everyone about her riding career so far." He chuckled. "Just like her parents, Jack was an accomplished Dressage rider, who could get any horse to perform any movement while talking to them! He wasn't very bright in most of his subjects like the other Ravenclaws, but he had a good heart."

"If I remember correctly, her mother, Brianna, was more of a speed demon with Barrel Racing and Pole Bending," said Pomona remembering her favorite student. She chuckled and shook her head. "More than once I had to lecture her about going too fast and used her own injuries as examples; she didn't care about her own injuries but always worried about her mount's health. I was surprised when I learned she was to be in my House since she was bright for her age and could have easily done well in Ravenclaw; but she was always willing to help anyone who needed it. In fact, I believe that is how she met Jack wasn't it?" she adds looking to Filius for confirmation.

"Yep, he needed a tutor in his fifth year if he was to pass his OWLs to become a Medi-Wizard, so I asked Brianna if she could simply help him out," he replied. "Never did I dream that it would cause those two to get together."

Neveah cleared her throat. "If we may get back to the task at hand . . . the School Governors and I have been talking with the reporters of the _Daily Prophet_ and, so far, they have agreed to stop writing about her for the rest of the school year to help stop all this trouble," she said, although from her tone, it sounded as though she wished they would stop writing about the young girl entirely.

"What about during the summer holidays and next year?" asked Hagrid worriedly.

"We're still working with them but, for now, hopefully things will quiet down," she said and turned off her laptop, motioning for everyone else to do the same. She waited until everyone had settled back into their seats before continuing. "Now, as Professor Dumbledore stated at the beginning of this meeting, he has made a request to the School Governors for a magical artifact to be placed in the school so that he may study in his spare time. After much consideration, the School Governors have decided to ask all of you on whether or not this artifact should be placed here."

"What artifact is it that the Headmaster wishes to place here Ms. Cornwall?" asked Professor Aurora Sinistra who looked about as energetic as a sloth; she taught Astronomy and only taught at night, sometimes not coming up to the Great Hall until lunch or supper depending on the night before lessons.

"The Philosopher's Stone," replied Neveah solemnly.

There was a collective gasp of breath as even Argus Filch recognized the artifact in question. Only Dumbledore and Hagrid looked indifferent, although Hagrid looked as though he'd rather be anywhere but here at the moment; Professor Quirenus Quirrell twitched and trembled uncontrollably for a second before calming himself.

"Absolutely not!" yelled Minerva jumping to her feet and looked at Dumbledore in shock. "Have you gone stark-raving mad Dumbledore?"

"Come now Minerva, I am of sound mind and body now as I was fifty years ago," he replied calmly, with just a hint of edge to his voice.

"I agree with Minerva, bring such an artifact into the school and we will have every student trying to get their hands on it," said Eileen Kunes, the first and second year Literature professor.

"Well of course we will warn the students not to . . ." began Dumbledore when he was interrupted by Emma Cartwright, the Runes professor.

"Warn them? Come now Dumbledore, do you really expect the students to listen to a warning? They will pretend to listen and then try to get to the Stone themselves!" she exclaimed. "They have no common sense of what is safe and what is dangerous!"

"And why should they listen? These are young, healthy adolescents who rely on us to keep them safe and keep the dangers outside of the school," Pomona adds to the agreement of the other teachers, all of whom had taught a reckless student at one point in time or another.

Neveah held up her hand to stop any other teacher from talking. "The other thing that the School Governors and I have agreed and suggested upon is that a series of challenges be set up so that no student under the age of eighteen will be able to enter the area the Stone is hidden. And as we all know, not any one student is good at everything," she said lowering her hand. "Now, both Professor Dumbledore and Hagrid have volunteered to set up a challenge each, I ask that five more volunteers set up a challenge each themselves."

"I'm in," said Minerva immediately. "While I do not condone placing a dangerous artifact in the school, I will be able to rest easy knowing that my challenge can at the very least slow them from going any further."

"I'm in," said Pomona and Neveah smiled at her old mentor.

"I am in as well, Charms can be quite tricky when abused and misused," said Filius.

"I-I v-vol-volun-t-teer as w-well," stuttered Professor Quirrell, wringing his hands tightly.

"Good, anyone else?" asked Neveah, looking around to the rest of the professors.

Nobody spoke, until one voice spoke up. "I volunteer," replied Severus.

Dumbledore's jaw dropped open in shock, but he quickly recovered himself. "Oh come now!" he scoffed.

"You have a problem with Professor Snape volunteering to set up a challenge, Headmaster?" asked Neveah, turning to the old man and staring him in the eye. "Because either way, the School Governors have the final say on this."

"You do know about his history don't you?" asked Dumbledore, sounding as if it should be obvious why Severus shouldn't be allowed to help.

"Yes, I do, nonetheless, he is the best Potions Master the school has ever had; almost all of your students have graduated with an Outstanding or an Exceeds Expectations in Potions. Not only that, but who better to help protect this artifact then someone who knows what the enemy thinks," she said, looking at him as if he were a child she were scolding.

It was quite comical, and some of the staff chuckled.

Dumbledore didn't say anything more. He knew when he was outmatched, but he couldn't wait until the day when they will all find out the truth.

Neveah turned to the other professors. "I'm sure the Governors will agree with the choice of volunteers; you will all have until the end of the school year to decide what kind of challenge you will create. When you have decided, the Governors will discuss it and then during the summer we will begin installing the challenges in the chosen area. We will also appoint a Wardsmith to set up wards on the entrance to the area to keep away unwanted visitors, students or otherwise. As well as to set up alarms should a student try to enter the area, are there any questions?" she asked.

The professors looked deep in thought, but none of them said anything.

Dumbledore moved to stand up and end the meeting, when Filius spoke up.

"It is strange you know," he said, his voice piping up to match his height.

"What is strange Professor Flitwick?" asked Neveah, even after all these years she couldn't dream of calling him or any of the other professors by their first names.

"That the school should be receiving a magical artifact such as the Philosopher's Stone, especially since a certain girl will be starting her schooling here after the summer," he replied, looking Dumbledore over the top of his glasses with a raised eyebrow.

"Nonsense Filius, I merely asked my friend Nicholas if I may borrow the Stone to study it. And since I am a very busy man, I have agreed to set up these little challenges while the Stone is not in my possession," explained Dumbledore and yawned before standing up and straightening his robes. "And on that note, if there is nothing else to discuss, I have a busy schedule and I bid you all good day," he adds before leaving the room, his robes sweeping out behind him.

"I must be going as well. Good day everyone, Professor Sprout," said Neveah, nodding to everyone before leaving the room as well.

Soon, the other teachers began to leave as well, sometimes alone or in pairs, until only the Heads of Houses and Hagrid remained.

"Looks like we've got a busy year ahead," said Severus as he finished his tea.

"Yes quite, but at least we can try to ward off anyone who attempts to get the Stone," said Pomona optimistically.

"I know, but we still have another obligation as well," said Hagrid, finishing the last of his sandwiches before standing up and walking toward the trash bin. "To watch over Faith and make sure the _Headmaster_ doesn't succeed in his plans for her."

Filius, Pomona, and Severus nod in agreement, while Minerva could only sigh and try vainly to keep the tears at bay.

"What is it Minerva?" asked Pomona, always the first one to pick up on someone's moods.

"Oh . . . just . . . thinking is all," replied the Transfiguration witch, as she pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbing at her eyes. "We never did find Albus' body and I can't help but . . ." She broke off as her shoulders shook.

"But hope that he is still alive," said Filius, finishing her sentence for her.

She nods as Pomona placed her own hand over Minerva's. "The truth will come to light and, when we do find him, we will be able to put this all to rest," she said as Hagrid refilled Minerva's cup of tea.

"Also, have faith," said Severus trying to cheer her up a bit. "He needs to be alive in order for the potion to work. So, wherever he is being kept, he can't be too far away."

Minerva nods and smiled at her friends. They were all of different ages and from different Houses and yet, it was times like this that she felt as if the Houses only represented their traits. "Thank you, I do try to stay positive, it's just so hard sometimes," she whispered.

"No problem, come, why don't we go visit Hogsmeade before we go to Hope's birthday party? I've run out of my stock of their Honeyduke's chocolate, and it wouldn't do to be sad at a birthday party. Ruins the taste of the cake," said Filius, trying to cheer them up.

"Perhaps I will join you later, I have some potions to brew for Madame Pomfrey, but I shouldn't take more than an hour," replied Severus. "If it takes longer, I will see you all at the party."

Filius nods and looks at the two women and Hagrid. "Well?" he asked.

"Well it is such a nice day," replied Minerva and Pomona nods in agreement.

"Not me, I still gotta wrap Hope's birthday presents," said Hagrid.

"Good, Severus as soon as you've finished, send us a message and we will meet you in the Three Broomsticks," said Filius as they all stood up and began to clear the table.

"Will do, have a safe journey," said Severus before departing for his Potions Lab.

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The old man sighed tiredly as the lid to his trunk opened and the young man slipped inside, landing catlike on the floor. "What do you want?" he asked, looking at his captor.

"That wrench of a Deputy Headmistress! Who does she think she is questioning me like that?" asked the young man angrily as he stood up. He was a handsome man of about forty, with auburn hair and piercing green eyes.

The old smiled softly. "Ah Minerva, how I miss her so," he whispered softly, in a caring, loving way.

The young man backhanded him, causing the old man to fall to the floor, too weak to get up or defend himself.

"And you won't ever get to see her if I have anything to say about it!" he shrieked. He reached forward and yanked out a few hairs from his prisoner's already tender scalp. "Keep in mind old man, that I can kill you in a heartbeat and send your dead body to your _lover_ should you continue to anger me!"

The old man chuckled. "You can and you would in a blind fit of rage, however . . . we both know you won't because if you do kill me, the Polyjuice Potion will no longer be of use to you. Then what will your master say to that?"

The young man hissed at him before turning on his heel and climbed back out of the trunk, closing the lid and locking all seven locks behind him.

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"Nymphadora!"

Tonks gasped and looked up from the map she had been scribing with to find Mad-Eye staring down at her, both eyes focused on her. "Yes?" she asked, wondering what she could have possibly done to get on Mad-Eye's bad side.

He growled, annoyed with her. "I've been calling your name for the last five minutes trying to get that report you were supposed to have typed up by now," he said, his tone saying that she had better have the report ready or else.

Tonks' eyes widened and she gulped. "Uh . . . the report?" she asked, her voice making a squeaking noise at the words, "the report".

Mad-Eye sighed and rolled his normal eye, his magical blue eye still looking at her. "No the Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans box . . . of course the report! The one about the Greengrass case!"

She quickly flushed tomato red as every pair of eyes swiveled to stare at her. How she wish Sirius and Brianna were here to help her out; but of course, Sirius was in Azkaban and Brianna was dead. "Uh . . . I'll have that report typed up in a sec boss," she said, quickly folding up the map and putting both it and the scribing crystal back into her desk drawer.

Mad-Eye looked around to see everyone staring at them. "What are you all looking at? Get back to work!" he shouted.

Everyone quickly went back to what they were doing, including Rufus Scrimgeour, an Auror whom Mad-Eye disliked in every way possible.

Mad-Eye waited until everyone's attention was elsewhere before turning to Tonks. "Nymphadora I know you love him but you need to let him go," he said trying to keep his voice low, which sounded more like a pitbull's warning growl than anything else. "If he doesn't want to be found he won't let anyone find him."

Tonks sighed. "I know, but he deserves to know the truth Mad-Eye. And Teddy needs to know who his father is," she whispered back fervently.

He sighed and his eyes told her he wished things had been different. "Dora, are you sure you're not just hoping for something that might not happen? Things change, especially in the eight years since he was last seen," he said.

"Mad-Eye I'm not concerned about anything that might happen between us," said Tonks stubbornly. "My sole-concern is that Teddy knows who his father is."

"All right then, get started on that report. Otherwise, you won't be able to go home in time for the birthday party," he said, knowing full well that it would only be a waste of time to continue arguing with her. "And you know Hope wants both you and Teddy there."

She nods. "I will Mad-Eye," she said, grabbing the file with the name, _Greengrass_ written on the front of the file folder.

He shuffled off, his cane banging loudly on the floor of the Auror Department.

Tonks sighed and looked at the photo on her desk. It was a picture of her, Brianna, and Sirius the day Tonks had joined the Auror Department; with both of their help, plus some extra studying from Remus, she had managed to pass her Auror exams with flying colors. _Why did that dirty rat have to betray us? We never did anything wrong to him_ she thought, her hair changing from its normally purple color to a fiery red.

"Hey Tonks what's wrong?" asked Pierre, one of the Aurors who had graduated from the Academy at the same time as her.

Tonks quickly calmed her feelings of anger down and focused hard enough so that her hair returned back to a shade of violet. _Get a grip Tonks, not everyone knows the truth_ she scolded herself. She masked her features into one of apologetic. "Nothing Pierre, just aggravated that this stupid report can't write itself," she replied holding up the file.

"Ah, well that's one of the downsides of being an Auror," he replied, before looking up at Mad-Eye's office.

 _Uh-oh what does he want now_ she wondered, recognizing the look from when her cousin had something to say that didn't pertain to work.

"So do you have any plans for tonight?" he asked, when he was sure that Mad-Eye wasn't going to come out and yell at them for mixing work with personal.

"Uh . . . yeah, I'm going to the Day Care Center, pick up my son, make dinner, do some housework, and then turn in," she replied sarcastically and then mentally cringed. Her mother was right; lying came too easily for her nowadays.

Course when it came to the two girls, lying was about the only thing keeping them safe.

"Oh . . . well . . . can your parents watch . . . Johnny is it?" he asked.

Tonks growled low in her throat. "His name's Teddy and no, they have plans tonight," she replied tersely, which was partially right.

"Sorry," he said, not sounding particularly sorry. "But, I was thinking maybe you and I can go out for drinks after work or something?" He looked hopeful.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Pierre the answer is still no, I don't date coworkers," she said, sounding as though she were a broken record with all the times she had to repeat that sentence to him.

"Aw come on, whose it going to hurt just going out for drinks?" he asked.

"Because you're idea of going out for drinks also includes going back to your place," she replied looking at him with one of her looks.

He shrugged one shoulder. "Can't help that all of the ladies fall for my charm," he answered, without a hint of modesty.

Unlike Remus, whose modesty had her fall in love with him when they had first met during her first year at Hogwarts.

"Yeah and now you know one of the reasons why I won't date you," she snapped. "Now if you're done distracting me, I'm going to get this report done before Mad-Eye has me on desk duty for the next ten years." She bent her head over the report and began filling out the blanks.

He scoffed. "You know, if you're not careful, you'll miss out on a chance to go out with me and you'll regret it," he said.

She decided to ignore that last comment and continued on with the report.

She had just finished signing her name at the bottom when a soft orange light began to emanate from the drawer where she had placed the map and scribing crystal. Looking around to see if anyone was looking, she opened the drawer a crack to see the crystal standing on its point, the light coming from the very tip where it stood on the map.

Making sure no one saw, she pulled the drawer out further and took the map out of the drawer, placing it on her desk. Waving her wand over the light, an image of a humble one-story house, painted white with black trim appeared; it had a porch with a swing in front and, when she turned the image around, she could see a small backyard.

Whispering a series of spells, she noticed that not only did the house have magical wards, but it had Muggle protection spells, Notice-Me-Not spells, and several spells that she recognized to keep a werewolf on the property in case it escaped the house. She gasped, waving her wand to get the address; grabbing one of the scraps of paper she kept on hand and a pencil from the mug she kept on her desk, she quickly wrote the address down.

 _If he's still there, maybe we can talk_ she thought, looking at the clock on her computer screen. _Damn it! I don't have time to go check it out now. I have tomorrow off and, knowing Iris, if I explain to her what's going on, she'll watch Teddy for me while I go check it out._

She cut the spell on the crystal and it fell with a _clunk!_ on the wooden desk top.

She sat back in her chair, her thoughts going a million miles an hour. _Please dear God, please let this be true. Please allow me to be able to meet him and talk to him_ she prayed.

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Okay so we have a mysterious guy using Polyjuice Potion and keeping some old dude who knows McGonagall locked in a magical trunk. Who is he? Who is the dude keeping him captive? And no, I'm not going to say why Tonks is looking for Remus but keep in mind, I am not making her thirteen years younger than him! I'm sorry that is too big of an age gap to keep in line with the original timeline, so she is two years younger than him. Also, it does have something to do with him being a werewolf but no he did not attack her. You're just going to have to keep on reading. Read and review! No flammers please.


	3. Chapter Two

Hey everyone! Thank you for reading here is the third chapter of the Faith Porter-Black series. And, while I wish I can own everything on here, I only own the OC characters. I do NOT own the songs, the characters, or the main plot from the Harry Potter series. Also, this is a combination of the movies, books, and games, which all belong to their original owners.

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In the northern part of Ireland, along the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean, lies a small city called Little Dublin. Not as busy or as fancy as its sister city, Little Dublin had a charm all of its own. Famous for its patrons of the arts, visitors come from miles around to see the Art Gallery, to sit in the cafes or coffee shops to hear poetry readings, or to listen to live music concerts in the Town Square. It looked ordinary enough with its many shops, cafes, tea and coffee shops, as well as bakeries scattered throughout the city; the library sat in the Town Square across from St. Patrick's Church and in between the two sat the Courthouse.

On the eastern part of the city sat the elementary school with its playground, basketball courts, and swimming pool, while on the western part of the city sat the middle/high school. The local college took up the northern part of the city. Reaching the end of the city itself, the residential area housed modest homes with a square yard in each house, both in the front and back. Some had gardens while one or two had a vegetable patch in the backyard. A riding school took up the rest of the land, where many residents took lessons and many visitors booked trail rides.

However, there were two particular houses that sat side-by-side with only a wooden privacy fence separating them. These houses looked nothing like the other residential houses in the neighborhood. The first house was a three-story house painted blue with a white trim; it had a screened-in porch with a set of concrete steps and a cobbled walkway leading up to the porch. The house next to it was built similarly; however, it had been painted a soft brown color with a darker shade on the trim.

To anyone looking at the outside of the houses, they would consider the two buildings to belong to well-off families, perhaps even some wealth bachelor looking to live in comfort. But, to the residents of Little Dublin, the families were strange and the people seen visiting them, even stranger.

It was early morning on the first Saturday of March, the moon had set and the sky was fair and the wind promised to be light and pleasant, something the inhabitants welcomed with open windows and warm smiles on their faces. The sun was just beginning to creep over the horizon, turning the lower sky a shade of black-gold rarely seen by anyone except by the early risers.

One particular early riser sat on the roof of the blue house, above her bedroom window, tuning her guitar. She was a slim, supple creature long misunderstood and underestimated. She had shoulder-length mousy-brown hair, ice-blue eyes, and tanned skin, the kind made by hours spent outside. She was tall for her age, but with it came an agility and swiftness not seen in most people her age. Her name was Faith, a name that she didn't particularly like when it came to going to church because the priest always talked about having faith.

This morning, she was filled with excitement. Not only was today her cousin's eleventh birthday, but today was also the Grand Opening of the new zoo that sat on the very outskirts of the city. The old zoo had been in desperate need of repair and upgrading of its buildings and systems. After two years of hard work, fund-raisers, and bake sales, the zoo was finally able to open.

And since her family had been one of the ones to donate and support the remodeling, they had gotten four free tickets for the Grand Opening.

Because they would be gone for the better part of the day, and because she would be too tired later that evening, she had decided to practice the new song her music teacher, Ms. Benson, had assigned her last Monday. It was _Far From Home_ by Five Finger Death Punch; her teacher had said that, since she had mastered the ability to learn to change the male music notes of Linkin Park to her alto voice, she should try another male band. So, Faith had chosen the one song she liked from this particular band.

Once her guitar was tuned to how she liked it, Faith took the pick out of her mouth and began to play, the melody soothing yet leaving her in a state of wonder.

 _Another day in this carnival of souls_

 _Another night settles in as quickly as it goes_

 _The memories of shadows, ink on the page_

 _And I can't seem to find my way home_

 _And it's almost like_

 _Your heaven's trying everything_

 _Your heaven's trying everything_

 _To keep me out_

The song made her wonder if her father ever felt this way while he was in heaven. Unable to be by his daughter's side, watching her grow up. She wondered the same thing about her mother whenever she listened to or sang, _Nobody's Home_ by Avril Lavigne.

 _All the places I've been and things I've seen_

 _A million stories that made up a million shattered dreams_

 _The faces of people I'll never see aga—_

"Faith Elizabeth Porter-Black!" called a female voice interrupting Faith.

Faith growled softly, muttering some words under her breath that would get her a session with a bar of soap in her mouth should her aunt have heard her. _For the love of St. Pete! Can't I go through one practice session without being interrupted!_ She turned to the owner of the voice to see her aunt leaning out the window of the Music Room that was off to her right on the third floor. "Morning Aunt Iris," she called cheerfully, hoping to stifle her aunt's anger at finding her niece on the roof again.

"Nice try young lady, get in here now!" her aunt called.

Faith sighed but complied. She slipped her pick back into her shirt pocket and, swinging her guitar to rest on her back, she crawled over to the window. Taking care of the instrument on her back, she gripped the sides of the window, and wiggled her way into the Music Room.

Inside the room, the walls were painted a light shade of red with yellow undertones; a bookcase with each child's name on each shelf stood against the left wall. A keyboard piano with a comfortable chair sat under the far window on the right, while two guitar stands, one stand holding a blue base guitar while the other stand was empty, stood up against the back wall. A large round table stood in the center of the room, along with a black, rectangular case sat on the table. Six music stands stood in a corner next to the bookcase.

Aunt Iris stood in the center of the room while Faith placed her guitar in the available stand and put her pick back in her small container of guitar picks. "Faith how many times does your uncle and I have to tell you? _Stay off of the roof_ ," she said sternly.

"I know," said Faith tiredly, bored with the lecture already.

For as long as she could remember, her aunt and uncle have warned her about the possible dangerous scenarios she could get herself into: she could slip and fall off the roof. She could get stuck or, worse, have an episode and fall off the roof. Faith couldn't help that she loved to watch the sunrise and sunset from her place on the roof; as for her Asperger's Syndrome . . . well . . . she hadn't had an episode since Christmas!

Asperger's Syndrome was a high-functioning form of Autism; meaning, while Faith was pretty intelligent, she had problems understanding social cues and emotions of others. This mainly led to her misinterpreting a person's motives, especially her teachers, and has led to Faith blacking out.

Aunt Iris sighed and wrapped her arms around her niece and hugged her close. "I know you're the best climber and you're always careful, but your uncle and I worry about you being on the roof," she explained softly.

Faith sighed and hugged her aunt back. "I know. I just love watching the sunrise and sunset from the roof," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. She closed her eyes and sniffed, smelling her aunt's perfume. A combination of Windsong perfume and mint-scented shampoo. "It helps me feel close to Mum and Dad."

Aunt Iris felt her heart clench at the response. "I know how you feel; I miss them too," she whispered.

They stood like that for a few minutes, each lost in her own thoughts, until Aunt Iris pulled back. "Come on, since you're already up, you can help me fix breakfast for everyone," she said.

"Okay, I just gotta go get my shoulder bag, wallet, and Hope's present, and then I'll be down," replied Faith.

Aunt Iris smiled and walked out of the Music Room.

Faith followed her aunt out of the room, closing the door behind her, and down the stairs toward the second-floor, but, while her aunt continued downstairs, Faith headed to where the bedrooms were located. She loved her family's home, for she and her family had lived here ever since she and Hope were three. Her aunt and uncle had bought it and added several enchantments to make it Unplottable to the Wizarding World, while at the same time, making it look ordinary to the Mortal World.

That's what made her family, plus the Scott family next door so different from the residents of Little Dublin. They were magical and, for reasons still unknown to her and the other kids, the adults had decided to leave the Wizarding World until their children started Hogwarts. Eric and Andrea Scott, her aunt and uncle, and her parents had all known each other during their years at Hogwarts and, when Eric and Andrea had gotten married and had Rose, they decided to leave England to get a fresh start.

But Faith's parents hadn't been lucky. Her mother had been an Auror, while her father had been a Medi-Wizard and both of them died when the hospital they had been working in at the time, was attacked. Faith had only been eighteen months old when her parents had died, but, sometimes, when she slept soundly at night, she swore she could see images of the night her parents had died.

And it wasn't anything like what her aunt and uncle had told her.

She would hear shouts and screams, things being broken. Her father yelling to her mum to take Faith and run. Her mum crying as she held Faith and kissed her forehead. Her mum begging with someone before screaming and falling. A flash of bright green light coming at her before it bounced off her and flew back to the sender. The screaming and pain . . .

Pain that emanated from her right eye, almost like she had been cut with a knife.

But there was nothing there. No cut. No blood. Not even a head injury.

She never told her aunt or uncle about the dreams; she figured it was nothing more than her brain's way of recreating the way they had died. Another thing that made her wonder about the truth was the fact that Hope's biological father was never mentioned, but yet, there were pictures of him around the house. Both she and Hope had asked several times where he was, but Aunt Iris and Uncle Henry had always told them they would find out when they were both older.

Faith shook her head as she reached her room, which had a white door with a dry-erase board stuck to it with an array of colorful markers and an eraser attached to it. She picked up the eraser and erased the message she had written earlier, _Went to the Music Room_ , before putting the eraser back in its tray, and opened the door.

Inside the room was neat and clean with light-purple walls, white trim, and a dark-purple plush carpet. A full-size bed sat against the far wall, under the window facing the backyard, a desk with an attachable hutch sat under the second window, looking into the next-door neighbor's house. In the corner, next to her desk, sat her bookshelf filled with almost every kind of book she had ever read or was for her schooling. On two shelves were notebooks and binders of stories and poems she had written, but had never gotten published.

Pictures of family and friends covered the walls, along with pictures of every pony she had ever ridden. Ribbons, trophies, and certificates cluttered the last two remaining shelves. A binder portfolio filled with trading cards and drawings scattered all over her desk of the latest characters she had drawn.

But if one took a closer look they would notice that all of the pictures were moving, some of the books pertained to magic spells, potions, and the like; and a wand sat on the windowsill.

Faith was used to these things after living in a magical household all her life. She walked over to her desk and grabbed her shoulder, making sure her wallet, Student I.D., and cash were inside, before grabbing the envelope containing Hope's present and birthday card. Looking up, she caught a flash of movement and saw David moving in front of his window. From the looks of it, he had just gotten up; his dark-brown hair all messed up from sleeping.

She blushed and quickly turned on her heel, walking out of her room, and closing the door, she practically galloped downstairs, jumping the last three steps, landing catlike on the landing.

"Faith how many times have we asked you not to go galloping around the house like a wild pony?" asked Uncle Henry as he came into the foyer from the living room. He had his wand in his shirt pocket, which meant he had just taken care of the family owls.

Faith ignored his comment. "Uncle Henry while my second Animagus form is a horse, my main Animagus form is a lioness," she replied seriously, before realizing from the twinkle in his eyes that he was teasing. She smirked. "Besides, what's the matter? Afraid you'll become deaf from all the running?" she asked teasingly.

He raised an eyebrow at her teasing tone. "You just wait until you have kids of your own and then come see me about going deaf," he replied gently pulling on her ponytail. "By the way, all four owls are still out but they'll hopefully be back soon with the morning mail before we go to the zoo."

She nodded and walked with her uncle into the dining room. Uncle Henry had been her mother's older brother, while Aunt Iris had been her father's younger sister. After her parents had died and Hope's father had mysteriously disappeared, Uncle Henry had helped Aunt Iris keep guardianship of the two girls and move to Ireland to get a fresh start.

When they entered the dining room, the table was set for four and the sounds and smells of cooking came through the doorway leading into the kitchen. A small pile of presents sat on the banquet table, to which Faith added her own present. A set of crutches was leaning against the table and Faith made sure not to knock them over on her way to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Aunt Iris was flipping pancakes while Hope was cooking the eggs. A plate full of sausages was already cooked and ready to be placed on the table. Aunt Iris knew how to perform the household chores by magic, but she preferred doing everything by hand.

"Morning Hope, Happy Birthday," said Faith heading over to the fridge and grabbing the milk and orange juice out.

"Thanks, I can't wait to see the zoo," she replied.

"Yeah me either, I especially want to see the lions and the Przewalski's Horses," said Faith excitedly.

"I agree on the horses, but I wouldn't mind seeing the wolves too," said Hope as she turned off the burner and scooped the eggs onto a plate with the spatula.

Aunt Iris smiled as she watched her two girls move about the kitchen. While biologically, Hope was her only daughter, she loved and treated Faith as her own daughter as well. Even though it was sometimes difficult since both girls were like fire and water; both following different paths of their own choosing. But they were alike in many ways.

Faith was the tomboy of the two, preferring to keep her hair in a ponytail, and preferring to wear jeans and t-shirts; she was quick on her feet, lithe, and agile, Faith was well-known for being a bit of a speed demon on her feet, on her bicycle, and on a horse while going around barrels. However, she did have the grace and natural talent for Dressage as well, something that confused both of her riding instructors, who though that, if Faith was to train for any English discipline, it would be either Show Jumping or Eventing.

Hope, on the other hand, was more of a lady than her cousin. Because of her leg being crooked, she wasn't as quick as her cousin; however, thanks to the riding and flying lessons, and Mad-Eye's training, Hope was at the same level of fitness as the other children. Like her cousin, she also rode in both English and Western, only she specialized in Show Jumping and Reining. Also, unlike Faith, she didn't just stick to jeans and shorts, but expanded her choices to anything comfortable. The only thing the two shared was the famous Porter eyes; ice-blue, which seemed to look into the depths of the soul of anyone looking at them.

She sighed as she thought about what September would bring that year. _If only the real Dumbledore was there, I wouldn't fear leaving them alone at the school_ she thought as she flipped the last batch of pancakes onto a plate and put the pan and spatula into the sink.

 _But they won't be alone. They'll have each other as well as their friends, plus the professors who know the truth_ said a voice, which caused Aunt Iris to gasp and drop the pan into the sink.

"Mum? What's wrong?" asked Hope worriedly.

Iris didn't answer. She could have sworn the voice she had just heard had been her brother, Jack's, voice. _But that's impossible; he and Brianna have been dead for almost ten years_ she thought, confused and worried. Was she losing her mind?

"Mum!" called Hope, her scared voice breaking through Iris' thoughts.

She shook her head. "What?" she asked, sounding dazed and turned to see Henry and Hope looking at her in concern. Faith was nowhere to be found.

"Are you all right Iris?" asked Henry, looking at his sister-in-law in concern.

"Yeah . . . I'm sorry, the pan shifted a little and my finger got caught is all . . . its fine now," she replied quickly, too quickly in her opinion.

She could tell that they didn't believe her and, more than likely, Henry would be questioning her later about it. She was spared at the moment by Faith coming back into the kitchen, seemingly unaffected by what had transpired, as she simply put the milk and juice back into the fridge before walking toward the counter to grab the plate of sausage.

Faith must have felt the tension in the kitchen because she quickly stopped and looked at everyone. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing sweetie, let's have breakfast. Andrea and Eric told me last night their kids were champing at the bit to get to the zoo," replied Henry, changing the subject.

"Oh . . . okay," she replied, shrugging her shoulders and walked out to the dining room.

Hope rolled her eyes as she grabbed the plate of eggs. "Seriously cousin?" she asked exasperated. "You have the emotional IQ of a teaspoon!" she adds sarcastically.

"I do not! And besides, there is no such thing as an emotional IQ!" Faith answered, sarcasm completely lost on her.

Iris and Henry chuckled as they and Hope walk back into the dining room, Iris carrying the plate of pancakes.

They sat down in their seats and Henry said Grace before they dug in.

It was while they were eating that Jinny came in, carrying a stack of magazines, letters, and two copies of _The Daily Prophet_ and _The Quibbler_.

"The owls have just dropped off the morning mail Mistress," said Jinny setting the mail on the table next to Iris.

"Thank you Jinny, how was your day off yesterday?" asked Iris as she sorted through the mail to make sure that everyone got what was theirs. She handed Henry a copy of _The Daily Prophet_ and _The Quibbler_ , the two letters from Gringotts and his book publisher, as well as _Transfiguration Today_ , and the _Herbology Journal_.

"Oh it was grand Mistress, I actually ran into my old mistress, Mistress Seymour, along with her House-Elf," replied Jinny as Iris handed Hope and Faith their magazines.

"I heard they were doing well, in fact their son would be starting his third year this coming September," said Henry, opening the letter from his book publisher. Henry wrote short stories and historical fiction novels; his favorite history was the time of King Arthur and Camelot.

She nods. "The House-Elf told me that sir, but the Mistress wasn't happy that we were talking so they went away," she explained.

Iris sighed as she read the name on one of the envelopes left in her hands; it bore the Gringotts seal and was official-looking.

"What's up Aunt Iris?" asked Faith.

"Hope, now that you are eleven years old today, you will begin to receive letters from Gringotts Bank," explained Iris looking at her daughter.

"Why?" asked Hope, confused. She and Faith had always wondered how her mum and their uncle could afford everything; however, the adults always said that the girls would find out when they were older.

Iris handed Hope the letter from Gringotts.

Hope accepted the letter and looked at the front, Faith read over Hope's shoulder.

 _Ms. Hope Black_

 _240 Shamrock Blvd_

 _Little Dublin, Ireland_

Hope turned the letter over, broke the wax seal on the flap, and pulled out the letter to read:

 _Dear Ms. Black,_

 _Many birthday greetings to you on this special day! Now that you have turned eleven, it is time for you to activate your trust vault and receive your inheritance. As the Account Manager of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, I would like to meet with you Monday, March 05, 2007 at ten o'clock to discuss the details. Please send me an owl to confirm or to switch the appointment. Many kind regards and a Happy Birthday!_

 _Sincerely,_

 _Roanoak_

 _Black Family Accounts Manager, Gringotts_

Hope looked up at her mother in confusion. "We have an Account Manager at Gringotts?" she asked, wondering if this was some kind of joke.

Iris nods. "Yes and, while I would love to explain everything to you, Roanoak will be able to explain it all in better detail," she replied calmly, although, on the inside, she was nervous. This was the first step her daughter would take to returning to the Wizarding World.

"Can I come along?" asked Faith, not wanting to be left out.

Henry sighed. "I'm sorry Faith, but only Iris and Hope can go to this meeting. But, when you turn eleven, you'll find a nice surprise," he said and held up a hand when she opened her mouth to speak. "And no I won't tell you what it is. You'll have to wait until your birthday."

"Oh . . . okay," said Faith and looked at Hope. "Don't forget to tell me all about it okay? Especially what Diagon Alley looks like."

"Since we're going to be going there in the morning on a school day, I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you all about the trip, if you make sure to get all of my assignments and classwork," replied Hope holding her hand out.

Faith took Hope's hand and shook it. "You got yourself a deal," she said.

Henry and Iris smiled, while Jinny went about her chores.

After breakfast, Faith and Hope cleared the table, while Henry got the car ready, and Iris wrote a reply to Roanoak, confirming the appointment. She would send it out later, after they returned from the zoo. She sighed as she placed the envelope on her desk.

 _Pray God no one tries to access the accounts until after Monday_ she prayed as she stood up from her desk and left her office.

When she had found out that Sirius had been arrested, she had changed plans and moved to France for a while. Thankfully, she had found an old friend who helped her set everything up, freezing the accounts except for the one that she would need to live on. Everything had been great, until they were found by Him, and they had moved to Ireland when the girls were three and they had gotten in touch with Eric and Andrea.

Eric and Andrea had found the house next door, got in contact with the original owners, and, after a month of negotiating with the owners, Iris and Henry had bought the house. It had taken six months to make the house ready for them, making repairs, adding protection wards, and making the whole property Unplottable to anyone in the Wizarding World. As the girls grew and began learning different lessons, she and Henry added different rooms to the house, even though it didn't look any different from the outside.

There was a basement which contained a small potion lab for the kids to learn how to brew potions and a small area designed and set up to practice dueling. The first-floor contained a dining room, a full kitchen, a living room with a fireplace connected to the Floo Network; a step down led into the family room that was used for Family Nights, games and movies, and a desk with a computer for Faith and Hope to use for schoolwork, and finally, a foyer with a set of stairs leading to the second-floor.

Here, were four bedrooms, one for each of them, three bathrooms, one of which the girls shared, and another set of stairs which led to the third-floor. Here was Henry's office where he worked on his books, journals, and worked on new spells for Transfiguration. Iris' office was across the hall from his where she worked on her potions and as a freelance website designer. There was also a classroom for the girls and David to learn magic as well as practice Occlumency and changing into their Animagus forms. After that there was the Art Room and Music Room. In the backyard was a swimming pool, a shed where they kept all of the lawn equipment and the family's broomsticks.

Iris looked at the grandfather clock she kept in her office, the same one she had brought from the old house. While everyone else's hands were pointing at _Home_ , Sirius' hand pointed at

 _Prison_. She sighed and walked out of her office and downstairs to rejoin her family. She gave Jinny a hug. "We'll call when we're on our way home," she said.

"No problem, Mistress, Jinny will have everything ready for when you return home," replied Jinny.

"Just don't tire yourself out in the process," warned Iris, remembering how, during the first few months, she and Jinny had haggled over who would do the chores. Iris had finally won in the end when she suggested that she, Henry, and the girls would be responsible for their own rooms, while Jinny would take care of the first-floor.

Jinny had agreed, but only after her stubbornness had been worn out.

Jinny shrugged and waved them off. "Don't forget to take lots of pictures!" she called before closing the door behind them.

"Hey you guys all set?" called Eric as he and Andrea came out of their house, their five kids following them out. The twins were still bleary-eyed with sleep. Since they had also helped with the fund-raisers and bake sales, they had been given tickets for the Grand Opening as well.

"Yep, morning Rose, Susan, Heather, how was school?" asked Iris heading for her car. She and Henry had decided to take her car since it would be a lot more comfortable for the ride there and back.

"It was great! I scored all Os on my last report card, and Aunt Minerva said that I might be made Prefect next year," replied Rose, a pretty girl with sandy-brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin, tall, and with willowy figure. She was a fourth year Gryffindor student at Hogwarts; her dream was to become an Herbologist Master and to teach at Hogwarts.

Andrea was smiling proudly. She loved all of her children dearly and was well-known for bragging about all of their accomplishments.

"That'll be so cool!" said Faith, who dreamed of becoming a Prefect herself. "You so have to tell me what it's like."

Rose giggled. "Hey let's not get carried away okay? Nothing's been decided yet," she replied, trying to sound modest. But her eyes told a different story.

Susan scoffed, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "At least you had a great week, those damn Wesley twins attacked me and Heather yesterday and that old codger put the blame on us!" she replied. "Even though, we both and all of the witnesses told him, Heather and I had retaliated in self-defense!"

"Yeah, one week's worth of detention and fifty points from both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff," said Heather grimly.

Henry nodded in sympathy. "Did you two talk to Pomona and Filius about it?" he asked.

They both nodded. "Yeah, they tried talking to Dumbledore about it, but he wouldn't change his mind," said Susan.

"I'm sure they'll find a way to make the next week easy for you two," said Iris comfortingly. "When do your detentions start?"

"Monday after classes," replied Heather.

Iris nods and began making plans.

The two twins were so different that if it wasn't for the fact they looked alike and acted like twins normally would, anyone meeting them for the first time would think they weren't twins at all. Like the rest of the family, who each had varying shades of brown hair and brown eyes, the twins sported sandy-brown hair, although Susan kept hers short with bangs, while Heather kept hers long. They both had tanned skin from being outside and were average in height and weight.

However, that's where the similarities ended. Susan was a second year Ravenclaw, while Heather was in Hufflepuff. Susan was one of the Chasers for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, while Heather was an Event rider for the Hufflepuff Horse Riding team. Susan wanted to be a famous Quidditch player and play for the Harleyhead Harpies; while Heather wanted to train and compete for a few years before retiring from the show circuit and train horses for a living.

Of course their parents also advised them to choose a secondary career or possibly even a third career. Susan chose to major in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Photography, something she only ever considered as a hobby. While Heather chose to major in Runes and Cultural Anthropology.

Eric and Andrea's only son came out of the house, his already messy dark-brown hair looking like he hadn't brushed it in years. He was bleary-eyed with sleep and he tried to stifle a yawn without success. "Why do we always have to be up so early?" he asked.

David was the same age as Faith and Hope and, like his sister, Susan, he too wanted to play Quidditch, only as the team's Seeker. Whenever Faith and Hope went to the Town Square flea market to sell Hope's artwork and Faith to perform a small live concert on her guitar, he would sometimes accompany them with his guitar and sing songs he had learned as well. He almost didn't have any spending money for today because he owed the library money; but, last weekend the three of them had gotten up early and had done well in those four hours.

Hailey, an almost ten year old girl with light-brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin, short and skinny, giggled. "That's what you get for play Metal Gear Solid all night," she said teasingly.

"Oh hush," he replied, pretending to be mad at her, but failing. Everyone knew that David could never be mad at Hailey, except when he was teasing her.

"All right, get in you two," said Eric as everyone got into their respective vehicles. He got into the driver's seat and they were off.

The roads were a bit more busier than usual, due to families wanting to see the new zoo. As Iris drove them through the traffic, Faith and Hope poured through their magazines.

"Oh . . . look at this one, he's so cute," said Faith pointing at an advertisement for a pony for sale.

"Yeah, but what's his temperament like?" asked Hope looking at the picture.

"He's a four, so my guess is he's a Hunter Type," replied Faith, looking at the pony. He was a cute gelding, a dark-bay Welsh/Thoroughbred cross with a snip on his muzzle and, according to the ad, he stood at thirteen-nine hands high. He looked good for Hope, but Faith knew neither of them was really serious about looking for a pony to own. They just liked looking at the ads.

Iris followed a silver Volvo into the parking lot of the zoo and parked in an available spot close to the entrance. Eric pulled up next to Iris' car and parked his car.

The sun was bright today, but a cool breeze promised to keep the day nice and cool. Families and even couples had turned out to see the event. The Zoo Director himself stood at the entrance, waiting until eight o'clock to open the gates.

Faith could hear the animals inside and began playing with the straps of her shoulder bag to keep her hands busy.

The Zoo Director smiled warmly at them all, as if nothing could make him happier than to see them all there. He picked up the microphone that sat on a portable speaker. "Good morning everyone! And welcome to the Grand Opening of the Little Dublin Zoo!" he spoke cheerfully.

Everyone applauded and some even cheered.

The Zoo Director waited until everyone was quiet before speaking. "Now before we open our doors, I would like to thank each and every one of the people who helped us make this day possible. And, if they would step over to my right, my assistant will take your tickets. So enjoy your visit everyone and let the day begin!"

Just as he finished speaking, the main gates began to swing inward and the crowd moved forward to pay for their tickets.

Faith followed behind her uncle, making sure Hope didn't get jostled too much.

"Don't look now, but someone's glaring at us," whispered Hailey pointing to the large crowd gathered around the main gates.

Faith, Hope, and David all turned their heads to see their fellow fourth grade student, Alexandria Kingston, standing beside her mother and father, waiting in line to buy their tickets.

"Take a picture it'll last longer," muttered David, who was in no mood to deal with the spoiled brat.

Faith shook her head. "Ignore her, we're here to have fun. And, besides, it's not our fault they didn't help out with the fund-raisers," she replied.

Faith never could understand why Alexandria, or Lexi as she liked to be called, hated her and her cousin. Both families were wealthy, all three girls went to the same elementary school, they rode at the same barn, and they all took music and art lessons. But, while Faith and Hope worked for their money to buy clothes, school supplies, books, and pay for show fees and extra riding lessons, Lexi only had to ask her parents for the object and she got it.

"Hey Cub you awake in there?" asked Henry, breaking into her thoughts.

"Huh?" she asked, turning to see her uncle hand the assistant the tickets. "Oh right," she adds and quickly follows them through the opening.

Throughout the remodeling, the zoo had been surrounded by a high wall to keep the kids out of the construction site. But now they were inside, it felt like they had stepped into another world.

The ground had been paved and leading in different paths were different colored animal footprints that led to the different animals they represented. Wooden signs carved and painted to display the animals in question pointed in different directions. Vendors with carts stood apart, waiting for people to buy something, while a gift shop and restaurant stood off to the side.

Faith knew that once everyone was inside, the vendors would begin patrolling the different areas to cater to everyone's needs.

Eric picked up a pack of free brochures and handed one to everyone.

"All right if any of us get separated, head to the Lion's Den and we'll meet you there," said Iris pointing to a spot on the brochure which featured a map of the zoo.

They all agreed and walked over to a vendor, a smiling woman whom they recognized from the flea market.

"Good morning to you, how are you today?" she asked cheerfully.

"We're doing good, just coming over to see what you have," replied Andrea.

"Well we have cold drinks, water, tea, Gatorade, and soda; plus we have ice cream, popsicles, and snow cones," replied the woman, showing them the brightly colored menu hanging above the cart.

Faith waited until everyone else had placed their order, trying to decide from the different flavors of ice cream. She was well-known for creating crazy ice cream concoctions, mainly because she didn't like sharing her ice cream with anyone; so, while Hope got a French vanilla and chocolate ice cream cone, she stepped up to the cart.

"Now is this going to be one of those crazy concoctions you see to like, or are you going to order a normal sundae?" asked the woman, knowing full well Faith's crazy tastes.

"Well, they're sort of normal," she replied grinning slyly.

"All right, what is it?" the woman asked sighing in resignation.

"A scoop of half-baked with a scoop of chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream in a chocolate dipped cone, with chocolate and caramel syrups and Oreo crumbles," replied Faith.

The woman shook her head as she made Faith's order and handed it to her along with her change. "You know, you keep eating like that, sooner or later, your body won't stay the same as it is now," she said warningly.

Faith shrugged her shoulders as she slipped the change back into her wallet and grabbed the cone and napkin. "Well if it happens it happens, not much I can do about it," she replied.

The woman chuckled. "Well, you all have a nice visit," she said.

"Thanks see you later," said Hope as they walked off.

The morning went well with no sign of Lexi or any of her friends. They visited all of the animals, taking pictures as they went. Hope was doing well with her leg and they had visited almost all of the zoo exhibits when they decided to stop for lunch in the zoo restaurant, the Rainforest Café. The inside of the restaurant was decorated to look like the South American Rainforest, with a great big tree growing in the center of the restaurant, vines and leaves growing along the walls. Attached in different areas were stuffed animals of the real versions that lived in the rainforest.

After lunch, they visited the Gift Shop, each of them buying some souvenirs.

Faith should have known the cheerful atmosphere was too good to last.

With their purchases in hand, they entered the last place on their brochures: The Reptile House. Hailey was too afraid to go inside, so Andrea stayed outside with her while everyone else went inside.

It was nice and cool inside and everywhere they looked there was a glass case containing some kind of exotic reptile specimen. A snake, an iguana, lizards, and even a Komodo Dragon.

David looked as if his birthday and Christmas had come at the same time. He was always fascinated with exotic animals, and he especially loved dragons.

They walked around the House, looking at each specimen, reading the plaque that was nailed to the front of the case that described it, and taking pictures.

They easily found the biggest snake in the House. It looked as if it could wrap itself once around both Iris' car and Eric's Suburban and crush them both.

But at the moment, it was taking a nice afternoon nap.

"'Boa Constrictor, Brazil, but bred in captivity'," said Hope, reading the plaque.

"Oh wow, I wouldn't mind owning one of these babies," said David, looking at the glistening brown coils with wide eyes.

"Oh aye, if you want to get rid of me and Hailey," replied Rose sarcastically. While she didn't mind snakes in their cages, she had a huge problem with them being out in the open.

Faith looked at the snake, wondering if it ever got lonely being in there all the time with no company except people coming in to stare and point at it all day. She noticed her family and friends walk off and, seeing no one around, she turned back to the snake. _So how are you today_ she asked quietly.

The snake's eyes snapped open and it raised its head until it was at eye-level with Faith. _You are a Speaker_ it asked in what could only be described as a Brazilian male accent.

 _Yeah, I've been able to talk to snakes since I was little, my cousin can too, but she didn't start until a year ago_ she explained.

The snake nods and sighs sadly. _I wish I could meet more witches and wizards like you, it'll be less lonely here_ he said wistfully. He looks over her shoulder and lets out a hiss of anger. _What kind of monster is that?_

 _Monster_ asked Faith in confusion, but she got her answer almost as soon as she asked the question.

"Well look who it is! It's the Freak!" called a jeering female voice.

Faith exhaled and turned to see Lexi standing behind her, hands on her hips. Faith couldn't see how the snake thought Lexi was a monster, but, then again, she was used to seeing Lexi's fashion sense. Even though she was only ten years old, Lexi dressed like she was in high school. Make-up, expensive hairstyles and clothes that pretty much screamed _Name Brand_! "What do you want Kingston?" she asked, turning back to look at the snake.

"So what are you doing here Freak? Shopping for your new dream home?" asked Lexi, walking up to stand beside Faith and leaned against the banister.

Suddenly, the snake lunged at her, hitting its nose against the Plexiglas window.

Faith didn't even move an inch but she giggled at the comical sight of Lexi's face. "Guess he doesn't like you Kingston. Although I must say, I don't blame him," she said, laughing.

"You made him attack me!" Lexi screamed, causing several of the patrons to look at the two girls.

"How? I didn't even say or do anything," said Faith, trying to keep her voice level. She shook her head. "That imagination of yours is getting out of hand Kingston, maybe you need to see a psychiatrist or something," she adds as the sound of running feet reached her ears.

"Oh yeah? Then how do you know it's a male snake huh?" asked Lexi accusingly. "You were talking to it weren't you? Just like you talk to the snakes at school!"

"Oh yeah? I talk to snakes huh? Well then if I can talk to snakes, let's see if he'll respond to the question of "Does he like you or not"," said Faith and turned to the snake. _Pretend you don't understand me_ she hissed.

The snake stared at her blankly and didn't say or do anything.

"See? For all we know I probably just told him his mother is dying and his father is pregnant," said Faith, causing everyone but Lexi to laugh at the joke.

Lexi blushed beet red as she glared at Faith. "One day you won't be able to get out of this so easily Porter-Black. Mark my words," she hissed before storming out of the Reptile House.

Everyone went back to their business, while Henry walked up to her.

"You okay Cub?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, just dealing with a spoiled brat is all," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Okay, well come on, we're all waiting for you so let's go home, and have some dinner; then we'll have cake and ice cream," he said.

"Okay uncle," she replied and turned back to the snake. _I gotta go now, and I hope we will see each other again soon._

 _I'm sure we will. Good-bye_ said the snake and watched the pair walk off. _Descendant of Salazar Slytherin._

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So now we know that both Faith and Hope speak Parseltongue, but are they really descendants of Slytherin? Or is there something else going on? Read and review! No flammers!


	4. Chapter Three

Okay, here is chapter three. Here it's more like a filler which is why it's not so long, plus there's a little history about what happened to cause Remus to disappear.

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When Faith and Uncle Henry came out of the Reptile House, Faith told them all what had happened at the snake's cage. David, Hope, and Hailey chuckled at the snake's reaction to Lexi coming too close to its cage.

"It's not funny you know," said Rose, trying to keep a straight face as she bit down on her lower lip to keep from laughing.

"Aw come on Rose, it is funny and you know it," said Susan, slapping her older sister on the shoulder in a friendly gesture.

Aunt Iris and Andrea looked at each other knowingly. "All right, if everyone is all set, how about we head home for the celebration?" suggested Aunt Iris.

Nodding in agreement, Faith followed her family away from the Reptile House and toward the exit of the zoo. She smiled as she swung the bags she carried with the souvenirs she had bought back and forth. She couldn't wait to read the books she had bought, maybe she could write an essay on the Przewalski's Horses and turn it in for extra-credit to Bridgett Sanders, her and Hope's English riding instructor.

They reached the parking lot and, after placing all of their purchases into the trunks of the cars, the two families got into the respective vehicles, and drove toward home.

While they drove home, Henry called the house phone to let Jinny know they were on their way home, and, when they entered the living room twenty minutes later, they found it decorated for the party in Hope's favorite colors: pink and periwinkle. Streamers hung from the ceiling, the food was laid out along the side table with a stack of plates, silverware, and napkins to start the line.

"Thank you Jinny," said Hope, hugging the House-Elf.

"You're welcome Little Mistress," said Jinny hugging her back as the flames in the fireplace turned green and a small shadow appeared in the flames before an eight year old boy with a mop of sandy-brown hair slid out of the fireplace on his rearend.

"Hey Teddy," said Faith helping the young boy to his feet.

"Hey, man I love traveling like that!" he said excitedly as Aunt Iris waved her wand over the boy, causing the ash and soot to disappear from his clothes and face. He was an energetic child who couldn't sit still for more than ten seconds before he started getting antsy. He loved traveling through the Floo Network, comparing it to riding a roller coaster.

"Yeah, but you need to work on your landing," said Jinny as she took the present he handed her.

Teddy shrugged his shoulders. "Hey at least I'm better at the landing then Mum, she's coming in just a minute," he said as a shadow appeared in the flames again.

Aunt Iris moved Teddy out of the way and, a second later, Tonks tripped coming out of the fireplace, landing on all fours.

Teddy, Faith, and David chuckled while Aunt Iris and Andrea shook their heads. "Really Dora? You always trip coming out of that fireplace even though you use it to come here every Saturday," said Andrea exasperated, as she helped the woman to her feet.

Tonks made a face at the nickname but didn't say anything about it. "I know, I know but I can't help it. This fireplace of yours doesn't like me," she replied. She pulled out a brightly-wrapped package from her cloak pocket as she stepped away from the fireplace.

"Just put it over there and hang your cloak on the rack," said Jinny as she waved her hand over the woman and the ash and soot disappeared.

"Thanks, Mum and Dad may be a little late; Mum had to work late at St. Mungo's," replied Tonks as she took Teddy's cloak off him and hung it with hers on the rack next to the fireplace. "Teddy why don't you go put the presents on the table with the others okay?"

Teddy nods and followed Faith toward the table.

"Is everything all right Tonks?" asked Iris concerned.

Tonks waited until the two were out of ear-shot before she leaned closer to Iris. "When you get a minute I need to talk to you about something," she whispered. "Mad-Eye already knows about it and it has nothing to do with Dumbledore, but I'll explain later."

Iris looks at the other woman. From the look on the younger woman's face, it was clear that Tonks had something she wanted to discuss. And, since she didn't include Henry, Eric, or Andrea, it could only mean one thing. She nods and squeezed Tonks' shoulder gently. "When the cake and ice cream are about to be served we'll talk then," she said.

Tonks nods as the flames turned green again.

Soon, the party was in full swing with Mad-Eye, Severus, Minerva, Pomona, Filius, and Hagrid arriving from their quarters. Always vigilant in his surroundings, Mad-Eye had a nasty habit of testing his food before eating it, much to the annoyance of Jinny who felt offended that he would think she would poison his food.

"For God's sake Master Mad-Eye, Jinny cooked the food herself and she was not ordered to poison it!" she shrieked after seeing him test the chicken three times.

"Old habits die hard Jinny! It's my job to think like a dark wizard and to make sure I didn't fall into their traps!" he said in his usual guttural growl.

Over in one corner, Faith was showing Filius her mastery of the Butterfly Charm, while Hope was in a deep conversation with Severus about a potion he was working on.

"I'm still writing down all of the ingredients, but I feel as though it's missing something," he said.

"Well when it's finished what it is going to be used for?" asked Hope curiously.

He sighed. "You know of what happened to Neville's parents I assume?" he asked.

She nods. "Neville was invited but his grandmother said they had already made plans," she replied.

"Yes well if I am successful, this potion would heal them of their state. It won't necessarily heal them completely, but their minds and nerves will be healed and, with physical therapy, they will be able to function normally and go home," he said.

Hope's eyes widened as she ran through the list of ingredients. "What about the tip of a unicorn horn and the ashes of a phoenix? Plus, they should have their memories of that night obliviated, otherwise the potion won't take effect," she suggested.

He nods in agreement. "Why do you suggest those two ingredients Hope? And why Obliviate their memories of that night?" he asked. He already knew the answers to both questions but he was a practical and logical person and he always questioned his students this way.

"Well the unicorn is said to have many magical properties, however, you can't use the blood because then that person is cursed forever. Although, legends do state that the tip of the horn is more powerful than the blood, and that the unicorn receives most of its powers from the moon through its horn. Now, about the ashes, everyone knows that when a phoenix dies, it is reborn from the ashes. It makes sense to use the ashes since the Longbottoms' bodies are weak, the ashes will revitalize them and make their minds whole again.

"And in response to your other question, their minds are stuck on that particular point in time. If we don't Obliviate their memories of the attack, their minds would still think they are being attacked and we would be back to Square One," she explained, taking a bite of potato salad before turning back to Severus. "But you already knew that didn't you Uncle Severus?" she adds giving him one of her mother's famous looks.

He nods. "Yes, but you will find it is always a good idea to question the use of ingredients for you can do more harm than good if it turned out wrong," he said taking a drink from his glass.

During dinner, Faith noticed that Tonks seemed a bit distant and preoccupied with something; several times she had tried talking to the older woman but every response felt forced or strained. When Aunt Iris went into the kitchen to bring out the cake, Tonks followed after her, leaving Faith wondering if she had done something to offend the older woman.

"Don't pay her no attention girl, she's just preoccupied with a case," said Mad-Eye when Faith asked if Tonks was mad at her.

Faith sighed. "I take it it's not always easy being an Auror?" she asked. She had wanted to become an Auror when she learned that her mother had been one and, ever since Tonks had begun teaching them how to duel and defend themselves, she had been pestering the older woman to teach her more.

Mad-Eye shook his head. "Nope, don't forget, it's not just the physical scars you see that are reminders of past battles, but also the emotional and mental scars which are the worst," he explained. "But you're still young, still plenty of time to change your mind about what you want to do."

She shook her head. "Nope, I'm still set on becoming an Auror, and that hasn't changed since I was six," she replied.

He rolled his one good eye, the other still looking at her. "We'll see," he said.

In the kitchen, Tonks stacked plates and added spoons to the tray that held in the center a gallon of Hope's favorite ice cream, while Iris stuck eleven candles into the cake.

Both women worked quietly before Iris spoke up. "You found him didn't you?" she asked solemnly.

Tonks didn't say anything as she tried to sort through her thoughts. "Yes," she replied.

"Well both girls are going out to the stable tomorrow, Henry has a meeting with his publisher, but I'm free to watch Teddy if your parents can't watch him?" offered Iris knowing that Tonks could be stubborn about asking for help.

Tonks' body relaxed. "It'll only be for a couple of hours," she said nervously.

Iris chuckles. "If you two can actually talk I think it may take longer than a couple of hours," she said, causing the other woman to chuckle as well. Iris turned serious as she looked at Tonks.

What nobody saw, which Tonks kept hidden for several reasons, were the three long claw marks that marked her chest. It had taken three days to heal them which, thankfully Iris had enough Healers' training to do. Tonks had refused to go to the hospital, knowing full well what the Ministry would do to Remus if they had found out.

Especially since she had been defending Faith at the time the accident had occurred.

"You know, when he finds out that you were pregnant during the attack, it might make him feel worse than he already does," said Iris remembering what Henry had told her when he went to go see Remus.

"And for all we know he thinks I'm dead," said Tonks sadly. "I'm not going to force us to be together if he doesn't want to be, but I would like Teddy to meet his father."

Iris nods, knowing full well how she felt. "Well . . . I'll be here when you get back with or without him," she said and looked toward the living room. "Come, tell me when you'll be over and I'll be ready."

Tonks nods as they both picked up the trays and walked toward the living room.

After cake and ice cream, Hope opened her presents. It wasn't hard to buy things for her, mainly gift cards to her favorite stores; however, she did get a new set of paints and drawing pencils, a new show outfit, and some books. Although Faith gave her their traditional present to each other, it included a new item.

"You're going to go get your nails done with me?" asked Hope.

Faith shrugged her shoulders. "I figured something new wouldn't hurt," she said and then made a face. "Please tell me they have something other than pink nail polish?"

Everyone chuckled. It was a well-known fact that, while Hope took care of her nails, keeping them short using the manicure set her mother had bought her last year Faith chewed hers up to the point that they were uneven and jagged.

After cleaning up the trash and putting the leftovers in the fridge, Jinny began handing everyone their cloaks.

As everyone began stepping into the fireplace, Tonks turned to Iris. "Is ten o'clock okay?" she asked.

Iris nods. "Yes and, please, take your time and don't hesitate to call if needed," she said.

Tonks nods and, grabbing Teddy's hand, stepped into the flames after throwing the Floo Powder into the flames.

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In a small part of London, a figure sat at the table, reading a copy of _The Daily Prophet_. He sighed as set the paper down having finished reading about the girl on front page's riding accomplishments. If it wasn't for the eyes, he would have sworn the girl on the front page was Brianna, but the eyes of his friend, Jack, stared back at him.

He looked at the mantel above the fireplace where a row of pictures sat. Several contained him and his friends before they went into hiding, while a few held a picture of him with a purple-haired witch. Only one was a picture of two three old year girls, one with a scar around her right eye.

He stood up and ran a finger over the last picture, hating himself for what he attempted to do an innocent child.

And for what he done to the woman he loved.

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Okay so something happened between Remus and Tonks which caused him to leave and her to have the scars. Keep in mind, it wouldn't really be considered an attack by normal standards, more like an accident. But, while not much is mentioned about the Werewolf Regulations and Control, I do believe if, even if it was an accident, he had hurt someone, then he would be imprisoned. More to come! Read and Review! No Flammers!


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